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The stereotype of being a player, in every sense of the word, has crippled my lonely heart for too long. I’m pigeon-holed into a category of men that doesn’t fit the mold of the person I am.
My body shakes with emotion. I bite on the inside of my cheek, steering the SUV towards the parking space as far away from the elevator as possible. Bailey will fucking hate that, and that’s at the front of my mind when I kill the engine.
But also, parking this far away buys me time.
Time to change Vanessa’s mind. I get the feeling I’m going to need a lot of it. Because if one thing is for certain, it’s that my best friend’s sister is going to find out just what kind of person I really am.
CHAPTER TWO
Vanessa
Thistripwassupposedto be my escape. The blazing sun back home didn’t help the ravaging fire inside my head, threatening to ruin my life completely.
It’s been a tough year. If losing my dream job wasn’t enough, having my boyfriend dump me that same night was like adding fuel to the flames. I’ve sat back, watching my friends in the film industry kill it in Hollywood and the second I get the leading role in a sit-com, I find out the budget is cut and the show will not go on.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for my friends. So fucking happy.
But when is it my turn?
“I’ll grab your suitcase,” Aiden says, ducking down so he fits through the doorframe of my brother’s SUV.
I try a smile, but even watching the way he walks has me fighting back those old feelings.
“Thanks,” I choke, watching him through the top of my eyes.
He has the same broad shoulders. His legs are enormous, long and weighty as they thump on the ground. I bite the tip of my fingernail as he bends across the backseat, trying my best not to admire the curve of his cute backside.
Dammit, Vanessa. Cut it out.
I stand by what I said. All athletes are the same. I’m determined to get a hold on this feeling in my belly. That and the moisture gathering in my panties. Ever since I jumped in the car and locked eyes with Aiden, the fluttering and flapping in my body hasn’t gone away.
Jocks in high school were always my type. Even if my brother was the biggest ego amongst them, I longed for their attention. I loved their bodies, their cocky attitudes and the way they owned the spotlight.
I hung around Bailey as much as possible just to get close to his friends, but they were never interested in me. I was just their friend’s fat, annoying little sister.
I was too round. Too chunky. Too curvy. So by the time high school ended, I got through the heartbreak of being so undesirable that I went to prom alone, and it wasn’t until then that I finally decided I was too much of a woman for them to handle.
I started to own my body. I flaunted my bigger-than-average breasts. I took care of my appearance, styling my hair and doing my nails. I ate the right foods and exercised, not to lose weight, but tofeel better.
And I did.
My career started to blossom and life was finally looking rosy.
Untilhecame along. My ex-boyfriend snapped any self-belief I had built up and shattered it the second he walked out the door.
I fight the memories zooming around in my head as Aiden presses the button on the elevator and stands back. He smells like a mixture of musk and earthy aromas that has my lady parts tingling. Of course, he’s the typical square-jawed, high cheek bones kind of guy. Shaggy strands of tawny-brown hair mops on his head in a messy style that makes me want to run my fingers through it. I’m fighting every desire in my body right now, but he’s my kryptonite. And the fact his dark hair shows signs of his superior age seems to be drawing me closer to him.
The elevator pings and the door rolls open. Aiden holds a hand out and I step forward, bowing my head to him like he’s fucking royalty. He looks at me, a confused wrinkle crawling across his dark brows.
“I don’t know why I did that,” I say, shrugging.
“I didn’t ask.” Aiden returns the shrug, and a quick succession of sharp blinks has me scampering into the elevator.
He’s been a weird grump ever since I shot him down. I could see the way he was looking at me, and after my relationship with Ethan…Oh God. Don’t think about him right now.I can’t. I just can’t.I can’t put myself through it all again.
Maybe I owe an explanation, Aiden was just being friendly. He’s gone and picked me up when my dumbass brother clearly couldn’t be bothered.
And he did it with a smile on his face.
